The English opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with comments from captain Ben Stokes about the dressing room as no place for "weak men".
The all-rounder delivered this message in several conversations in the wake of England's loss in the second Ashes versus the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the third Test, where England now face defeat at the earliest opportunity, the captain stated he had let his message to "circulate freely" within the playing group.
"I have completed the necessary discussions over the past two days that I required," remarked Stokes.
But, following Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
The captain issued his "weak men" comment after England were beaten in the second Test to go two matches behind.
The England squad subsequently went on a holiday to Noosa between the second and the upcoming Tests.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, he said his team had held "raw" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their effort to remain in contention in the Ashes battle.
Nevertheless, the Kent batsman asserted the messaging from the captain and coach Brendon McCullum had stayed consistent with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," said the opener. "The focus is just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this Test."
Australia On the Verge of Rapid Ashes Triumph
Crawley's wicket late on Saturday came during a crucial three-wicket burst by Australian spinner Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in a short spell – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – meant England 207-6 in pursuit of a daunting target of 435.
This means, the home team need just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an insurmountable 3-0 advantage after three Tests.
A loss would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and condemn them to a fourth successive overseas Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England losing the first two Tests in rapid time each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians sealed victory in England in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been decided so quickly. Australia have also won in eleven days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "We came here to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we'll certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"It's been difficult. They're a formidable side. It was always going to be tough touring here to face them. They entered as the favourites and have demonstrated their quality."
Pope's Position Under Scrutiny
Although Crawley's innings in Adelaide likely secures questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope looks under immense pressure for his spot in the fourth Test starting December 26th.
Pope was out for 17 in England's second knock on Saturday, extending his modest returns against Australia.
In sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has failed to score a half-century and boasts an average of just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top six in Ashes Tests and returned a lower average.
But, Crawley said any notion Pope is being scrutinised originates with "the media" – meaning the press – "and not within the team."
"We all know of his considerable talent," added Crawley. "He has had a productive year if I'm honest."
"He has played some really good knocks. This is talk externally. There's no chat of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.
